The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-12-25

that ChTgtmRH time 10 long AFRO. when Wa
listened to the siren voice Of this wandering
comet and Cow away With II to behold Tho won
doris OF space. that dead sun was one Of the
stars that FILTERED in our sky and shattered
fla tiny iayelins of lieht upon tho spov ernst Of
our billsidee. Now Il IA cold. opaoue. inertia
clod in space. And its vorldsp All hare thew
are, gray and dead. too. and providing around
Il as they did when II was attn able IN warm
and illuminate them. The tides OF life have
ceased to flow throughout all this once beauti-
full system, the tremor OF atomic forces IA over,
and eternal stiffness has claimed it's own,
This ia a sorry visit that our comet ia paving to
the dead, We did not need to come here TO be
reminded OF the inevitable fate of nil things
worlds and suns rs well as mon and nations.
Yet in the midst OF death we are surrounded
by the potencies and possibilities OF life. Az
We are In the act OF making our perihelion pas-
sage around the extinpuished ann. wbose Mt
traction has drawn us aside from our tourney,
we become aware Of the fact that wa arc In tho
presence OF another enormous dark BODY.
another dend sun. and that the two are rushing
together with the velocity of destruction. We
are about to behold, nay. to be present at one
of those rare and most marvellous phenomena
OF the universe. the collision OF two want bodios
in space. With a armament-shssinr crash they
meet, and meeting. melt. with ali their ROCKY
ribs. like the morning dev in the ferce eush Of
heat that sprinps from thar arreatsd motion
They fuse. tbev uouefv. thew bor. tbev buret
into steam and vapor: tbev ernand tanfold
a thousand fold. In volume Thu ovea ara
blinded. thu atarrv heavens nv. hlottsd from
sieht. a new and terrific iife has bnrat into
bloom IN this nlaee Of tina dead, Ths swful
strupele Of atomic forces. Of heat. Of o~ravitn.
ton, has been resumed here. not to cease again
for millions Of ages. Those immense solid
bodies that met In awful collision have been
transformed, like magic, into a nebulous mass
whose hot vapors now envelop us and expand
over milliards of cubic miles, Such a cosmical
catastrophe as this some of the astromers told
I us, it was that caused the sudden outburst ofs
now star which surprised the world in 1879.
And II we wore now upon the earth and looking
toward This quarter of the heavens we should.
doubtless, be discussing the appearance of an
other now star. Thus does the history Of
creation, as well as the history Of human
ity, repeat itself, The destruction of the
globe, whose attraction drew our comet aside,
and its Transformation into q vast vaporous
mass, as we'll as the perturbations introduced
into our motion by the presence Just before the
collision OF Q second enormous attracting body,
have put us into some peril and completely
changed the direction of our flight. But for tho
great original velocity Of the comet we might
have been involved In the destruction. But.
fortunately, we are able to wing our way out
OF the chaos, and continue our Journey in open
space. soon-that is to say soon when reckon
ed by the measure Of time our comet has ac-
customed US to-we leave the new-formed nsb-
ula behind us, showing as a misty speck in the
black sky. until. with increasing distance, 1t
fades from sight.
Once again a vast interval Of time elapses.
| For millions of Years We arc swallowed I'M in
-
comet approaches US, and, like ships meetingin
midocean, we draw closer together and slight
" alter our courses under the effects of mutual
| attraction, and then speed on once more with an
| everlasting farewell. Now and again a little
meteoric body. q dust speck of SPACE. wearied
with it's ceaseless rowing. drops to rest upon
the comets bosom. At last there is a brigham
ing In one quarter of the armament. The
| shining increases to q blaze, We are drawing
near to another great centre. Yet. behold 1t is
not one sun that attracts US, but thousands It
is a sun cluster that we are now going to visit.
one Of those magnificent solar gatherings that
we used to admire from the earth In the glow
ing constellation7of Sagittarius. A sphere Of
sunsl How they glitter and scintillate and
blaze and beat down our eyelids with unbear-
able light. Ten thousand suns, shining to-
Rether. revolving around one another. linked
in the everlasting bonds Of gravitation and
blazing in uncomfortable rivalry To behold
such Q spectacle is worth a journey from tho
furthest shore OF the universe.
But here. again. there Is peril for our comet.
II its course lies within that sphere It can never
escape. Luckily for us 1t lies without. The
whole cluster serves as its focus Of attraction,
and 1t swings around 1t, keeping at a vast dis
lance. yet near enough to give US q glimpse Of
the splendors within. II We had gone nearer
not only should we have been involved in the
labrynth Of attractions in the cluster. but its
individual members, which are really separated
from one another by thousands Of millions Of
miles. would have appeared so far apart that
the ensemble Of the scene would have been de-
stroyed. As it Is. skirting the cluster at q
great distance. we behold it in its full glory.
catchlns d ghmpse VI tne perpstuai aayileht
hat proNans "Atnih H. Anu sooihs Will tne
minds eys the favored worlds that pathe
therein. Then 1t fades from view, and We are
off for fresh adventures.